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How can you create a healthy garden, in which your plants are robust, full of nutrients and water? How can you create a garden that contains plants that resist disease? Creating healthy garden soil is one of the keys to developing a healthy garden full of vigorous plants. Why Focus on Healthy Soil? Strangely enough, the casual observer of a garden will rarely think about the soil in that garden. We'll look at the plants and the flowers and admire the scent and the colors of the leaves. However, the soil is what is beneath all of this, literally and figuratively. Soil is what provides nutrients to a plant and provides a stockpile of water for the lean times. Without good soil, the garden can be bolstered with fertilizers and pesticides at great expense and effort. With good soil, the garden grows and thrives, as long as you ensure that you continue to have good soil by regularly adding compost and other natural fertilizers to the mix. What Is Healthy Soil? What does healthy soil look like? Let's take a look at the soil in a typical garden. It may be compacted from years of feet moving over it, however gently. This means that air and water have a hard time moving into the soil, and the roots of the plants have a hard time moving into the soil to collect water and nutrients. The soil may not have regular infusions of nutrients, or it may have fast-release fertilizers placed on it every so often. These fertilizers provide a sudden, quick release of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, but they don't last. Healthy soil is not compacted. It's not light and airy like potting soil, but it has air pockets and places where the water can seep in. Roots find their way through the soil, slurping up the water and collecting nutrients for the plants. Microorganisms and larger animals like worms gradually decompose the organic matter in the soil, making more nutrients available to plants over time. The plants thrive, and they are less susceptible to disease because they have what they need. Using Compost to Build Healthy Soil Using compost in the flower or vegetable garden can create a healthy garden environment that reduces the needs for pesticides and fertilizers. A plant that can easily access water and nutrients is more likely to thrive. The same plant is much less likely to succumb to plant diseases, so there is less need for pesticides in the garden. Fewer pesticides in the garden means that soil microorganisms, invertebrates, and birds will all thrive, and this will lead to a sturdy garden ecosystem that does not require pesticides, because one animal or plant keeps another in check. Compost is also a natural soil conditioner and fertilizer. It adds microorganisms and organic matter to the soil, including nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus and micronutrients like manganese. Compost is so helpful to a garden, yet because we do not always consider the soil, its usefulness can be forgotten. Next time you are despairing of the health of your plants and considering a chemical alternative, turn to compost first.
Lars Handley is a master composter based in Dallas, Texas. Want to learn more? Visit his Composting site to learn every aspect of making compost. Dont miss the Composting Q&A page where you can ask a question and get a personal response.
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